10.30.2008

not much of a change. it just helped to experiment a little with this one. this week has been packed. i am looking forward to the weekend. i am living in limbo with spirits that are high. last week i sent a formal letter of complaint to the property manager and her superior asking for a little retribution for the major leak in my apartment. i quickly received a response that absolutely blew my mind. a reflection of grace. it never hurts to ask, you know? this evening i was in the middle of baking biscuits and the fire alarm in my building went off. apparently a little lady on the fourth floor left rice on the stove and it burnt, filling the fourth with smoke. i grabbed my bag and cell phone and went downstairs and outside with a hope and prayer. it is still an odd feeling to be able to let everything go in the blink of an eye. i wish letting go of the daily emotional aspects of waking in the dark at the crack of dawn, driving in heavy traffic to work and slowly reacting to things that happen to me and around me, was just as easy as leaving all my material things behind. there are so many little things that remind me of the joy in monotony. it's a common theme among many of us, i know. there is great truth in simplistic beauty. if it's so simple, how come most of us forget? there are great things i miss from just getting in my own way, i see that. no duh! i'm gonna get back to my trees. and leave what ever philosophical discussion i was about to have with myself, alone. i am going to turn in early tonight, i just feel it.

10.20.2008

the lull is over and as promised i have something so not worth showing from the weekend of making a little new art. i'm trying at least. the number one issue i have with this is it's size, so so small. secondly it is much to sparse or something. thirdly i will be reworking it to the point it no longer looks this way, i'm sure of it. and it's true, when adidas came out with the rockin' color schemes a while back i couldn't help but store those ad images in the back of my mind, for later use. maybe something like these tiny odditys. you remember them, don't you?

if you happen to be looking for something to do this friday night, might i suggest stereotype?

10.16.2008

citronella in it's natural form is one of the prettiest ever and against the sky i am reminded of green snowflakes, as if they exist. i am working on new tree designs, ideas or patterns of shapes. my ideas don't even seem to come close to those of mother natures creative imagination. i'd say the highlight of my week has been GNO. let you in on my secret mystic side and GNO=girls.night.out. the next best thing about my week is tomorrow, friday. and then of course loading up the liquor boxes and working on art. should have some kind of promising art in progress update soon. it's just i'm enjoying the lull a little bit. heard something about "compassion fatigue" today on the radio and i thought about my art and more specifically my trees. just had me thinking again.

10.13.2008

the rest of the week looks like a long list of to do's and some probably won't get around to's. regardless, here it is, in one, in the bag kind of way.a. write "moving" letter - study the craft of complaintb. clothesline board debriefing meetingc. scrounge up boxesd. organizee. pack & launderf. work on new 8"x10" artg. paint magazine rackh. sand desk to look worni. eat @ mellow mushroom with sisters in lawsj. new post old art at 50% off sale on etsy (will keep you updated)k. scrub tubl. exercisem. read the red tent moren. take "giveaways" to salvation armyo. make some mashed potatoesp. see new little niece, mayq. corner the marketr. collect a few fall leavess. spray paint plant standt. research new bikeu. my turn to buy non-dairy creamer for workv. take more picturesw. look more carefully and noticex. believe+joy=miracley. take my vitaminsz. no naps, bed time earlier

10.09.2008

creative paper quilts coming very very soon to the bookstores near you!i received the best news a girl can get today, from the sweet and amazing (author & artist) terri stegmiller. she posted her advanced copy of the book on her blog. i almost could not believe my eyes. i feel like i have been talking and writing about this for forever.

it is incredibly exciting to see my little paper quilts on the pages of a diy book, finally! it's an absolute thrill and a joy for me to have the opportunity to actually talk about it and share the process. i loved creating these one of kind "paper quilts" and have had this dream of seeing my art work in print. there is a undefinable feeling when you first see all of your art work hanging on a gallery wall but it is all together quite a different feeling when you see you work reproduced a thousand times for mass consumption. a lovely feeling, in the right context. i have not touched my paper quilts, worked on a paper quilt since finishing the book project. i may feel it's time to pick up the collage again and try my hand at some monochromatic paper - stuff - experimentation, something, who knows? i have the majority of my paper quilts up for sale in my etsy shop and will see about putting up the specific quilts from the book up for sale as well. i really have no idea.

in treehouse apt news; i'm meeting with my current property management tomorrow to discuss my move from the grand. i plan to be as kind and as firm as possible and hope to come away with peace about the next two months. i am head over heels blown away by how things have just fallen into place the last couple of days. i cannot wait to be settled in my new "flat" at the new southside flats - i've got my work cut out for me. prepping for Holiday St. Elmo fest/show, moving outta here, i'd like to contribute a piece of work to the AVA all member salon show, there's the october 31st createhere "scary stuff" bit and then MAINX24 on December 6. it's the best of times, really and to beat all chattanooga got some good rain yesterday and my drive to kimball today was beautiful, what with the trees beginning to change color. i'll leave it at that. good night.

10.07.2008

today felt like a blur. and despite it all i came away feeling completely unscathed. and more than a little excited, thrilled to be sure. what might have been an unbearable struggle has now become something of a small miracle. i am especially thankful for the cooler weather, otherwise tromping around this morning would have been a sweaty mess. and i am clearly looking forward to a new perspective, and cannot wait to wake up to a new scene. a brand new view. i'm taking the west side. there is a whole lot more work and a whole lot more strategy to go over but i think i can say, a tad sheepishly, that i feel like everything that can be, is under control. that is the leak has stopped. the water is back on. and life as i have known it for the past six years will continue on but only for another very short little while, hence the sneak peak of the new treehouse apartment. if you read often and know me at all, keep me in your thoughts and say a little prayer for me, that i remain a heap o' joy throughout this great big change to come. the nervousness is nipping at me just a little. i'll do my very best to keep you posted as this thing, my life, and the changes become more in focus. good night. all.

10.06.2008

just finished ::haunted window trees:: this evening. hope it's "scary" enough for the "scary stuff" show coming up october 29 at createhere. it's a change for me, to start with a dark black palette of tissue paper. by adding the creamy white paint, and red and gold splattered paint i hoped it would look like blood and bones. and that's about as creepy and dark as i think i can get. don't know but think it's a fairly successful addition to the overall series of trees. maybe it's the turn or corner in my perspective i needed. not necessarily darker themes but darker palettes.

i'm also facing a ever growing hole in my ceiling. today i came home to the exposed pipes and wires and more dripping water. don't worry though, i've gotten my safety gear together, going to bed with my life preserver on and whatnot. just taking everything day by day here. i did however get to my closet tonight and gathered three bags of give me away clothing. i'm happy about that and can now half-check the task off my every growing list of things to do.as getting it to a drop off salvation army box is yet another story or might i say, yet another two weeks away, as i seem to do everything i want to do about two weeks behind my internal schedule. it's all very good here in the treehouse. i have got so much to be thankful for, like the mountains, that is signal point and the cool rocks and the one thing i love most, light. simple light. it'd just be nice to know in advance if i have enough in me to make it through this heavy construction project. i think today i felt i did but each day is a little different. knowing the future isn't all that important. i'm not worried. i have no plan to surrender my white flag. hope to keep you updated as i begin to create work for upcoming november show. woohoo! good night now.